Why Columbus Isnt a Hero

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who was sailing for Spain. Many people credit him for the discovery of America, but he didn’t really discover anything. He took credit for finding land that already had people living on it and claiming it for Spain. Some people look at Columbus as a hero and the founder of America. Others look at him a different way, more like a villain for the terrible things he did to the native Americans and how he took credit for something he never discovered. Columbus is not worthy of his honor and shouldn’t be looked at as a hero because of the things he did and because he was a liar.

Columbus established many things while he was trying to colonize the Americas. A couple of those things are the tribute and encomienda systems. These systems forced the native Americans to work for the colonists. The majority of the work they did was mining for gold. Unfortunately because of the hard forced labor many Indians suffered and committed suicide. Since so many of them committed suicide and even mass suicides there was a dramatic decrease in their population. The decrease in population and suicides can all be blamed on Columbus because the systems he established were the reasons for them.

After Columbus returned to Spain after his voyage he told king Ferdinand he discovered such fertile lands. He never discovered any of the land he did he just took over the natives lands. After he took over the lands he asked the king to send people so he could start a colony. He told the king “ and your highness will command a city and fortress to be built in these parts, and these lands converted.” He wanted to build a new city and use the lands to make a great profit. This is another reason why he’s not worthy of his honor because he could care less about the native Americans all he wanted was their land and to use them as slaves.

Columbus was a very greedy person that got extremely lucky when he came across the Americas. All he wanted was to...

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History textbooks and stories passed down generation have always seemed to portray Christopher Columbus, the daring European explorer, as a man of heroic qualities and benevolent intentions. No American History textbook is complete without the heartwarming story of an ambitions sailor born to a poor Venetian carpenter who thought outside of the box, discovered the Americas, and at the same time, changed the world forever. However concrete evidence and undeniable fact shows us otherwise. Christopher Columbus was an opportunist, in the sense that he would go through any means possible to attain wealth. As for what deems him a hero in the public eye, his “discovery” and his legacy; it is arguable whether he was indeed the first European to land on the Americas and, due to his apparent character flaws, the main long lasting global affect his conquest seems to have had is the introduction of a master white race in the Americas, stemmed from slavery made necessary by genocide he incited in the Caribbean, which has led to deep rooted racism in the “new world”. No hero would bring this upon a nation. To no extent was Christopher Columbus a hero.
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...Linguistics
American Studies
PS 1: Introduction to Colonial Literature
SS 2013
Closing date: 16.08.2013
Hero or Villain?
–
An Analysis of Columbus's Letter to Lord Raphael
Sanchez, Treasurer to Ferdinand and Isabella, King and
Queen of Spain on His first Voyage (1493)
Inhaltsverzeichnis
1 Introduction..............................................................................................................2
2 The Story of Christopher Columbus.......................................................................2
2.1 Background.......................................................................................................2
2.2 Columbus and His Journey..............................................................................3
2.3 Columbus's Motives..........................................................................................4
3 Conclusion.................................................................................................................5
Bibliography.................................................................................................................6
1
1 Introduction
The foundation of America is commonly known as one of the major developments in the
history of our planet and is accredited to a man named Christopher Columbus, who
therefor became a symbol of achievement. Columbus is associated with exploration,...

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Hero Or Villain
By: Martin Boykin
Christopher Columbus can in no way, shape, or form be considered a hero. A hero is someone who performs good deeds for the sake of others and not for their own benefit. Christopher Columbus did not do a single good deed in any of his four voyages in the late 1400's. Christopher Columbus was not the founder of the Americas we live in today because he did not set a single foot on these grounds, even if he did there were already the natives who inhabited the land. When he first sited land it was further down south in the Caribbean Islands. Christopher Columbus can be considered the enforcer of slavery. Slavery was already going on when he left Spain. However, the natives could be used for trade with other goods, this was known as the slave trade. He and his crew basically enslaved a whole race of men, women, and children. When Christopher Columbus discovered what he thought to be the "New World", he had no idea that he would find a whole race of people. His intensions were to go out and find gold and spices to bring back to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Spain.
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